A Night to Remember
by SplashofColour
Summary: A section of Strong and Clear. Evfra and Ryder try something new.


**A piece of my other fic - Strong and Clear - posted separately to avoid the M rating. It would come after chapter 20 if you are interested.**

He didn't pull her – simply held her hand – as he walked into the bedroom. His eyes never left hers – never wavered. Her gaze matched his own as much as her steps. He sat on the bed and looked up at her standing before him. None of her usual pristine calm could be found though neither could one see fear. It was more of an ardent buzzing in her muscles. As his field enveloped her, he felt a shiver run through her body as if she had sensed him take her into him. He reached for her waist. His hands felt cold and surreal as if they were not alive until they touched her. She bit her lip.

The Initiative shore leave uniform was simple: two pieces. He was grateful that at least this part was easy for him. Without the worry of buckles and straps of armor, he could discover her more and enjoy taking his time. He ran his fingers around the hem of the top, but she caught his hands. He looked at her startled.

"No gloves."

He nearly smiled before he noticed the way she bit her lip and the stark contrast between her cheeks and the pallor of her skin. Her blue eyes were burning, and the very thought of their promises made him shiver in anticipation and fear. What was he doing? How could he do this and do it correctly? The control he had exacted over his life was of no assistance in this unknown abyss.

She took his hands working deftly at the gloves. She pinched his fingers one by one pulling the tips free of their confines. On his final digit – the fused finger, she paused, and he suddenly felt that he was the one who was strange rather than her. When the glove came away, she looked at his hand briefly before moving to the other making the lump in his throat work its way out of his system. She finished and looked at him expectantly. The attention made him nervous, so he busied himself with his task.

His hands circled her waist settling under the cloth. He pushed it up to reveal skin noticeably lighter than what he had seen in the sun. It was a relief to him that the light saw no difference in their skin making it darker in its presence. The humans in the vids had always been uniform colors. He was pleased that mammalian skin in both galaxies was the same – filled with lines worn by sun exposure. He looked up at her meeting her gaze for a moment before she looked away. He kissed the soft skin of her stomach and looked at her again to see her eyes closed and her brows knitted – an expression that he liked.

He pulled the shirt over her head and saw a white article wrapped around her chest. Angaran women wore similar garments while nursing when their breasts swell to accommodate milk, and some wore it at other times, though it was usually more for vanity than any other purpose. The brassiere was considered a convenience so much that it was not even standard issue in the Resistance commissary.

"It's not fancy," she said garnering his attention on her face rather than her chest. "Like I said, I didn't want to presume."

He wrapped his arms around the small of her back and sent a pulse through his field as he rested his cheek against her stomach. "It is fine. You are beautiful."

Her hands rubbed his scalp, and the light touches of her fingers made him purr in pleasure. It was something he had missed – being touched. There are times when a simple touch, one without any sexual intent or urge, made one feel safe and calm. It gave a sense of being warm and cared for. He hadn't been touched in a long time, so he let her rub his head, feel his collar, and trace the scars on his face. It was intimate and freeing to have someone truly see him without feeling repulsed or the utter encumberment of empathy that was so common in angara.

Her fingers trailed down the back of his shirt continuing to rub and ease the tension out of his muscles. When she stopped, he moved his cheek from her belly to look up at her. She was frowning down at his armor and fiddling with a clasp. He smiled and stood undoing the clasps as he went. He had at first thought of watching her puzzle her way through the clothing, but he thought it may make her uncomfortable if it took too many attempts, so he peeled the armor off himself. It was not the complicated field pieces, but the material stuck to his skin making it seem almost easier to remove chest pieces and guards than the sticky tight shirt.

He dropped it to the floor and looked at her. She stared again with her lip in her mouth. He wanted to know if she was pleased. Did he have too many scars? He rubbed the old wound on his shoulder and glanced at her. She met his gaze and slowly reached a hand to the old wound.

"You've always done that when you were nervous."

He started to balk but stilled himself. He owed this woman an explanation if he owed her nothing else. His fist clenched at his side, and his jaw worked. The old wound had healed, but the emotional one inside had only begun to close recently, and it was still tender.

"My mother – Joevette. She shot me."

Ryder's eyes flashed. "I didn't know. I mean, there was distance between you. I knew she was a part of the Roekarr, but I…" She laid her palm flat against the wound.

"I looked her in the eye and lowered my rifle. She did the former but not the latter. She… was a shell after my family's death. The Roekarr gave her meaning. I only wish that I could have done the same."

Ryder looked up at him, and her voice was soft and warm. "It seems to me that you have. It was only later."

Evfra smiled gently and took her hand from his chest kissing it. He appreciated Ryder's sentiment, but he knew that the good things that had occurred in his life were not solely of his doing. It had taken many to bring about what had led them to this point.

He reached to touch the scar by her eye. "This?"

She leaned into his hand. "It's a token. When my helmet broke, a piece of the polymer cut me. I was basically dead. The last thing Lexi was thinking about was how pretty I would be later."

"I… like it," he said slowly watching her cheeks turn red again.

She leaned forward wrapping a hand around the back of his neck and kissed him gently letting her dry lips linger on his. It made his field wash with cold, and his skin prickle. He reached to her running his hands up her shoulders vibrating the field around him. Her mouth opened with a whimper, and her fingers clutched at his neck. He responded by winding his hands into her hair and pulling her head back into him. She tripped a little at the motion, and the moment of heavy breathing and heat broke. He colored.

"I did not intend –"

She silenced him by pulling his mouth back against hers. He responded by wrapping his arms around her. The insistence in her kiss had shoved the embarrassment so far away that all he could feel was the heat in his belly again. His hands fumbled with the binding finding it to be stretchy. He pulled it up intending it to go over her head. It did for the most part. Sara aided him by wriggling out the last bit, and she was no sooner free than she had his mouth against hers. With a growl, he lifted her and dropped her onto the bed. She moaned and arched her back at the motion, and he liked the way her brows drew together, and her mouth opened. He put a hum into his field and leaned over her kissing her neck.

His hands wandered down her body feeling the calloused skin turn to soft supple secrets. When he touched her breasts, she whimpered. He moved his mouth down her collar. He hadn't realized humans had one even if it wasn't nearly as distinct. His hands found the soft peaks and kneaded them to a rewarding arch of her back. His mouth soon replaced his hands, and his kisses morphed into nips much to his and her delight. He trailed down her stomach stopping at the hem of her pants.

He looked up at her letting her breath steady. When she seemed more lucid, he hooked two fingers into the hem. He had planned on teasing them away, but her hips lifted, and he took the invitation. Each inch of skin made him hungrier to taste her. He had like what he had seen so far, but there were more practical things to consider. At his silence, her knees drew up. He ran a hand up her leg and lay beside her. His eyes searched her face as she turned red.

"What," she said in a hoarse voice. She cleared her throat and repeated the question more clearly.

He watched her not wanting to seem uncertain or incapable but needing to ask all the same. "I know," he started choosing his words slowly, "that we are similar in… this, but I do not wish to hurt you in any way. I have not inquired about our… compatibility."

She nodded. "We're on blockers – the Initiative, so that's not an issue – as far fetched as that may be. And as far as other things are concerned, I have looked at Lexi's records. Slyly, of course."

He nuzzled her. It made him happier that she had planned for this as had he. It eased the practical side of his mind and gave him leave to focus on the rest. "I thought you didn't want to presume?"

"I said I didn't want to presume, but there were other reasons to look," she barked too forcefully at him.

He smiled at that. It reminded him of himself a little bit – defensive and a bit arrogant. "It made me happy," he admitted.

He was starting to like the way the little sentences made her both happy and embarrassed. It was another thing about the Pathfinder he was growing to love. He kissed her and was amused at how forcefully she returned it glad to be rid of the topic, but he was startled when she pushed him rolling him over and busying herself with his trousers. She bit her lips, and her red cheeks showed hot against the pale of her skin. When she loosened them, she hesitated a moment, and he sat up touching her cheek and kissing her when she turned to him.

"I will never hurt you," he said searching her eyes. "If there is anything at all that makes you uncomfortable, tell me."

She sighed against his gentle touch and let her tension go with the air. She rolled again sitting up on the edge of the bed. He joined her reaching down for his boots and socks. In her rush, she hadn't noticed that he was still wearing them. He sat the boots by the bed and stood. He was even a little hesitant to bare himself to her. His fingers hooked in the hem, and he stopped. He wondered how he had ever done this before. The whole process of undressing had never been like this when both knew the other, and they had been wrapped in lust. All the uncertainties and the feelings were piling up making this clunky. He felt a gentle touch and looked down to see Sara's strange beautiful naked form in front of him. He noticed the hand not touching him was clenched over her crotch hiding herself, and he knew that he needed to at least be as brave as her. He pulled the pants off unsticking the same unyielding material from his skin. He sat beside her and glanced at Sara.

She sighed. "It's not so different."

He looked down at her in turn. "Neither are you."

"That's… comforting." She looked up at him and smiled.

He wound his hand in her hair and pulled her to him. The kiss was slow at first but quickly grew and blossomed into ragged breaths and beating hearts. He ran a hand over her breast teasing, and when her kiss broke, he moved his mouth to the other. His other hand snaked between her legs, and they parted for him. She shivered and fell back against the bed with her breast popping from between his teeth. The motion made her moan again.

He liked the view, and he teased her more registering her reactions from mediocre to excellent as he explored and learned her body. He leaned down to kiss her stomach as she melted, and when her body began to clench, he pulled away letting her ragged breathing catch up to her. He laid beside her, and in between kisses and the gentle scratch and vibrations of his fingertips, he whispered his love to her.

When she steadied, he began rubbing nearer the little curls between her legs. He watched her face hovering over her. When he guided himself to her, he leaned down and kissed her ear whispering ' _Beautiful_ ' before he slowly let himself fill her. She winced, and he stopped concerned.

"No," she shook her head. "I – It feels… good." The last word changed from breathy to a low growl. He answered it in kind.

While he may have been different in appearance to most human males, his performance did not seem to be lacking. She pushed weakly on his chest, and he stopped confused and frightened. She pushed harder, but he was not difficult to move. He gave to her touch until she had rolled him over. His hands lay to his sides – afraid to touch her lest he do something wrong.

To his surprise, she grabbed his wrists and held them against the bed above his head. His field changed instantly from the weak confusion to hot sparks making his body vibrate with both it and his purr of pleasure. She began to move, and he let himself be lost in the bliss. He didn't have to worry when she was in control, and his own back arched as hers had done – although not as profoundly due to angaran posture.

He growled, and she answered. The first growl was instinctive, but he loved her cries that he produced more fueling her excitement and speed until her plaintive keening reached a crescendo. The very sound made him tense and relax falling apart at the seams. She collapsed onto his chest, and he held her gently whispering soft words as a tear formed at the corner of his eye.

"Stay here with me."

Her voice was hoarse, but he felt the way her lips turned up at the corners. He loved that smile, and he would keep it there. He would keep it here in his arms. "Please," he asked again with a squeeze.

"Yes," she answered, and his world was suddenly perfect.


End file.
